me?"

"Black up?" repeated William Philander. "That is what I said?"

"Am I black, sir?"

"Yes, as black as coal. Look at yourself in this glass," and the
captain held out a small looking glass and also a lantern.

When Tubbs saw himself in the glass he almost had a fit.

"My gracious sakes alive!" he groaned. "How ridiculous! How did this
happen? Why, I look like a negro!"

"Is anything amiss, Captain Putnam?" came from the next tent, and
George Strong appeared.

"Nothing, excepting that Private Tubbs has seen fit to black up as a
negro and call upon me," answered the master of the academy, with a
faint smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

"I didn't black up!" roared William Philander. "It's all a horrid joke
somebody has played on me while I was asleep! You don't want me, do
you?"

"No, Tubbs."

"Then I'll go back, and if I can find out who did this--"

A burst of laughter from a distance made him break off short.